Livestock farmers speak out against permitting process
By Janet Kubat Willette
jkubat@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 02/16/2012 9:39 AM
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ST. PAUL ----- Livestock farmers from across Minnesota testified at an ag committee hearing last week how they have tried to grow their operation, only to hit roadblocks imposed by the state's permitting agencies.
Paul Magedanz of Richmond, Minn., said he's spent almost $2 million on a proposed expansion in hopes of growing his dairy to provide income for a sixth generation.
"…My biggest concern is why did we do it, we should have never done it," Magedanz said. "We should have moved to South Dakota like the better dairymen do and just got on with life. We would have been far better off than to propose any such a foolish move like this again in Minnesota."
Bob Marg of Altura in Winona County said he can't trust the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the county feedlot officer or the county Soil and Water.
Where does he go if he wants to expand his livestock operation to bring in the next generation?
Duane Wirt of Lewiston, also in Winona County, said there needs to be improved communication about changes in the rules and clear rules based on solid research from Extension.
Sen. Doug Magnus, R-Slayton, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Economies, called the Feb. 2 hearing in response to a meeting held in Rushford last fall where several farmers raised concerns about permitting. He invited them to come to St. Paul and testify and several did.
There are significant problems, Magnus said, and he hopes to find ways to solve those. He credited MPCA Commissioner Paul Aasen for staying to hear the testimony of farmers. Many of the issues talked about pre-date Aasen, he said, but it's up to the agency now to resolve the issues and make it easier for farmers to grow and expand in Minnesota.
There's a lot of opportunity in agriculture now, Magnus said - the best in his lifetime - and he doesn't want to see farm families limited in opportunity because of a state agency.
Aasen and two others from MPCA, Gaylen Reetz and Jeff Connell, also testified before the committee. Reetz is director of the MPCA watershed division and Connell is the land and air compliance manager.
Aasen presented senators with data showing how well the agency is doing in complying with House File 1, which established a 150 window for issuing permits and a 30-day window to determine if permit applications are complete.
Data presented to the senators showed that of the 2,658 permit applications received, 5 percent were returned as incomplete and 84 percent were issued. Nearly all – 99 percent - of construction permits were issued within 150 days. Permit numbers have been around 3,000 annually for the past three or four years, Aasen said.
The average number of days to issuance of a general NPDES permit is 72 days in the period of March 1, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2011. The average days to permit issuance when an Environmental Assessment Worksheet is required is 254 days for fiscal years 2011 and 2010.
Senators asked several questions during the presentation. One wanted to know how many jobs were held up by the permits not granted. Another wanted to know the age of the permits not yet issued. A third wanted to know if Minnesota has outreach to compete with the aggressive outreach efforts of neighboring states.
After the meeting, Magnus said the number of questions showed the senators were engaged. He intends to follow up with the agency and see how they will resolve the specific situations mentioned in the hearing. He also told at least farmer who testified that he would be in touch.
Magnus said he will continue to follow the issue. He's going to visit with other senators and determine if actions need to be taken. He didn't rule out holding another hearing on feedlot permitting.